On hotter days, I often skip doing any serious cooking and turn to making simple and easy-to-prepare meals for lunch, like this cold soba noodle salad. This Asian inspired fusion one-dish meal is welcomed most by my family who loves both noodles and salad. It’s so refreshing and appetizing yet filing that we don’t mind having it as meal for the whole day.   Soba noodles, a type of Japanese thin...

  Lately, my family has a new liking. That’s my multigrain congee (rice porridge). Having this tasty yet healthy meal makes our bellies feel so satisfied and great.   This congee is not exactly 100% multigrain. Instead, it’s made up of 50% multigrain, 20% millet and 30% short grain rice. The presence of millet and short grain rice gives the texture a new dimension from toothsome to smooth, as...

  Whenever I recommend avocado to new parents, most of them either dislike it or have no idea how to go about eating it. Hmmm….does this explain why avocado is one of the least popular fruits among Asian kids? Maybe, but I am still pondering about it.   I don’t have many recipes for avocado. However, from time to time, I would come out with some adventurous way of enjoying it. On one occasion,...

It’s almost three weeks since my last posting. We went back to my hubby’s hometown to celebrate this Lunar New Year and reunite with our family members and relatives, catch up with old friends and ex-colleagues, as well as to indulge in those “bad for health, hard to resist and once a year not-to-be missed” festival dishes and goodies (feeling guilty now after gaining weight ). Even though we had...

Beside apples, oranges are the most common imported fruit that my mom usually used to buy for the family when I was a child. But, I disliked oranges then, as more often than not they weren’t sweet but rather sour. I thought I was the only one who had this bias against oranges until I discovered that my hubby also disliked oranges. Maybe, we might also have influenced our son who also didn’t show much interest...

Lately I have tried out many recipes from Annabel KarmelN1 Family Cookbook magazines (spring and summer editions) in my cooking. I love its wide selection of kid-friendly recipes which are both simple to follow and wholesome. Also, the required ingredients and seasonings are quite basic and easily found in the supermarkets. Besides that, the recipes include many fun and healthy ideas suitable for all ages...

  You probably heard a lot about Omega-3, the polyunsaturated fat that is essential in life. It protects against heart disease, promotes healthy skin and joints and is essential for proper neurological development in unborn babies and young children. The American Heart Association’s (AHA) dietary guidelines recommend that adults eat at least two servings of fish high in Omega-3 per week.  If you want...

Fish and tofu (beancurd) are great source of protein. What will you do if you have both in your fridge? I would have recommended steaming them as it is the easiest and healthiest way of cooking. But what if you or your family members are bored with the usual steamed food? The recipe I am sharing today may just be the alternative solution for you. It gives an interesting twist in the cooking method compared...

I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver, the famous English chef, not only for his unpretentious cooking style, but also his campaigns in promoting proper eating habits for kids as well as adults. In 2005, he signed up as a dinner lady in the School Dinner TV series to challenge the junk food culture in schools by showing them that they too can serve fresh nutritious food that kids can enjoy eating as well. He actively...

  Since we first met till we got married, I have yet to see my hubby choosing salad as the main course for his meal.  I also didn’t really put much effort to convince him to try. I blindly accept the fact that it is not so easy to change an adult’s eating habit as compared to a kid’s. Until recently. that was my perception. Well,  now he loves salad!   When I told him that...